switch hitting

If you hit .400 from both sides probably helps. If you hit .200 from both sides...not so much...

What if you are a natural righty and hit 400 lefty and 500 righty with more power. Catcher son did this this year, but got very few right handed at bats, so his season average was .405
I'm not sure if we made the right move but he has been hitting exclusively right handed and we are putting right handed hitter on his profile.
I've wondered if he would be more recuitable with a switch hitting tag. I know as a coach trying to win a game he should hit righty.

I don't think it is switch-hitting that is so attractive, it is left-handed hitting. A great left-handed hitter is more valued than a right-handed hitter who is maybe a little better -- at least in my experience. If switch-hitting is what brings this about, then that is a good thing.

Also, from an individual standpoint, a switch-hitter (a good one) is not subject to platooning, and the worst thing in baseball almost is the be the right-handed half of a platoon.

Switch hitters need to be very good from the left side, because that is the side they will be hitting from 70%-75% of the time.

Example: A switch hitter with 400 at bats.

Hits .350 from right side and .250 from left side = .275 batting average.

Hits .350 from left side and .250 from right side = .338 batting average.

Of course, these are approximate numbers and don't tell the whole story. Typically, most switch hitters will have more power from one side or the other (usually right side). This is especially true with young players.

FWIW... Over the past 10 to 20 years, the number of LH hitters has greatly increased... To the point that good RH hitters are becoming more valuable to recruiters and scouts. No one wants a line up that all hits from one side.

As always if a hitter is good enough, it doesn't make much difference. Checking the draft results will show that the best hitters get selected early no matter if right, left or switch. Obviously, most of those are not switch hitters.

Just my two cents - I am sure someone will chime in here and school me on my "incorrect" thinking...

I believe switch hitting is an unnecessary gimmick that fails the majority of time. Robbing peter to pay paul is a poor strategy imho. For every Mark Texiera or Mickey Mantle or Robby Alomar out there who seem to be successful at it, I contend that the more often than not, a switch hitter will show poor numbers from one side. I think a better strategy is to learn to hit .300 from left handers and right handers while standing on your natural side (power side) of the plate. Continually strengthening and reinforcing that one side. Yes, Mark Texiera has hit .300 from both sides but we will never know if he also wouldn't have hit .300 (against lefties and righties) while hitting exclusively from one side.

Now let the beatings begin...

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/...kjian_tim&id=5524029

Cleveland Dad,

I agree 100% with you! I feel that I did the correct thing with my son, years ago, when we decided to work exclusively to his "natural" side.

I feel good about that decision given how things have turned out for him and then I read Tim Kurjian's article on the subject just two weeks ago.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/...kjian_tim&id=5524029

quote:

Originally posted by Prime9:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/...kjian_tim&id=5524029

Cleveland Dad,

I agree 100% with you! I feel that I did the correct thing with my son, years ago, when we decided to work exclusively to his "natural" side.

I feel good about that decision given how things have turned out for him and then I read Tim Kurjian's article on the subject just two weeks ago.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/...kjian_tim&id=5524029

Prime9 - good article! I don't feel so stupid now

Seriously, I forgot about some of the players mentioned in that article that are really good switch hitters. A common theme there seems to be Dads wanting to see it for their sons i.e., loved Mickey Mantle, etc.

Every player is different. Our son began switch hitting in college and continued throughout his pro career. He's a natural lefty, who always hit from the right. His college coach encouraged him to try switch hitting.

Switch hitting improved his value by giving college and pro coaches more options within one roster spot. Also, it allowed him to better utilize his abilities...power from the left and average from the right. Whenever he slumped, he always felt he was slumping from both sides. Finally, it was one more tool in his box that helped set him apart from the competition.

quote:

Originally posted by TxMom:
Every player is different. Our son began switch hitting in college and continued throughout his pro career. He's a natural lefty, who always hit from the right. His college coach encouraged him to try switch hitting.

Switch hitting improved his value by giving college and pro coaches more options within one roster spot. Also, it allowed him to better utilize his abilities...power from the left and average from the right. Whenever he slumped, he always felt he was slumping from both sides. Finally, it was one more tool in his box that helped set him apart from the competition.

Yes, but his Coach encouraged him to add the left side(" his natural side") to his hitting tool box thus the end result was a switch hitter. To the point, that would have been his better side and how much better overall hitter would he have ultimately been, had he focused on that side from day one?

No doubt, many Coaches see that ability as a very valuable asset. The only possible scenario I see where it make sense, is a right handed speed guy, that doesn't hit for power or a good average, that you want to get into that left handed box, closer to first base so he can "leg out" more infield ground balls.

quote:

Originally posted by TxMom:
Every player is different... Finally, it was one more tool in his box that helped set him apart from the competition.

I second this thought. It may not be the best for every player, but for some, it offers a competitive advantage. My son switch hit a little in early high school "travel" ball, and then went back to it after an eye injury after his first year of college. Frankly, it was a bad enough injury that he probably wouldn't be still playing if he didn't.

I will say this, though; no one should consider it unless they are highly motivated to double the amount of BP they take. People like to talk about Texiera's "talent" (which he obviously has) but that guy is a workhorse in the cage...

I never had the desire to convert my lefthanded son to also batting righthanded, but I was tempted and we did try for a little while to convert my righthanded hitting son to a switch hitter. I agree though with ClevelandDad, that it often actually hurts hitters especially if their left/right splits are consistantly large. Everyone wants their kid to be Pete Rose, Mickey Mantle, Chipper Jones, or one of the great switch hitters, but what you often get is U. L. Washington who actually was killing his overall average and usefulness by thinking he could hit from both sides when really he was a Major League hitter only from one side.

Hi Prime,
Just to clarify... he was a lefty in everything he did, except he felt more comfortable hitting from the right while growing up, so we let him. I've noticed several left handed pro pitchers that bat right, too. I think it has something to do with their dominant eye. Our son was once tested for a dominant eye, but didn't have one.

Two years ago he dropped the left side during a slump, as his overall average had always been higher from the right, and had a hard time picking up the ball coming out of a RHP. Had trouble with LHP when he tried to bat exclusively from the left, too. After 12 years of switch hitting, it was very hard to retrain his vision, so he went back to switch hitting and did well.

My point is that some players may actually be more comfortable using both sides of the plate.

quote:

My point is that some players may actually be more comfortable using both sides of the plate.

Sure, I understand and I did catch that he felt more comfortable early on hitting from the right side. I was of that exact persuasion, a lefty that always felt "more natural" hitting from the right side.

It was only much later that I discovered, at the suggestion of a Coach, that I WAS better though on my natural left side.

All my life I've struggled with which hand to use and realize that has worked against me in some cases. Example, underhanded I prefer to throw right handed (bowl right handed), I threw and played baseball, football and basketball left-handed. I prefer to play ping-pong lefty but tennis from the right side and so forth..

The overall premise is this; no one is truly equal from both sides, at anything AND it takes tens of thousands of hours to develop a fine motor skill like pitching or hitting a baseball, why not spend that time on the BEST bet?

I can only relate the experience with my youngest son. He is a natural righty. He was encouraged to work on switch hitting by Jim Lefebvre, the former player and manager. He was encouraged by Brian Harper, the former player and current minor league manager, to become a left-handed hitter.

His swing is remarkably similar from either side, although at given times he will hit better from one side of the plate than the other. Last fall and through the high school season, he was better left-handed. This summer, he was better right-handed.

I believe that had he never switch hit, he would be better right-handed than he currently is from either side. However, some interesting opportunities have come his way, and I believe it is because he has become a very strong and consistent left-handed hitter. I also think he has more room to improve from the left side since he did not begin this until the summer between eighth and ninth grade. It has not been an easy road, but it has been productive. And, interestingly enough, at the Junior Sunbelt tournament a year ago, the coach went with a right-left switch from game-to game. jemazjr stayed in the lineup much more than would have been the case because he could go right or left.

He was drafted in June and is now playing at Arizona State. The pro guys liked the switch-hitting and the college coaches the left-handed hitting, which, again, in his case was more important than the switch-hitting. I just don't know what the interest level would have been had he remained right-handed only. It also would be interesting to see how he would do batting left against a lhp, something he has never done outside of batting practice (and then only on occasion). It would be good to get more right-handed opportunities, especially in games.

He will tell you that it is not easy. To this day, I still cannot say whether it was the best thing, but I do believe in this particular case it was an important thing. I also believe that the ESPN article is a little overstated.

My older two sons, by the way, were right-handers exclusively (and my oldest son was the right-handed platoon his first year of college, which was tough). My grandson clearly will be a righthanded. I hope he is good.

4thGen throws right handed and he is right eye dominate. He was a switch hitter his whole life. Before 10 years old he just alternated at bats. After that he took at bats depending on the pitcher. He gradually became a better hitter left handed becasue he had so many more at bats from that side. He hated taking BP from a same side pitcher. Just prior to his Sr. in HS he developed a bone chip and damaged some tendons in his left wrist. He could not hit right handed at all until August after surgery. When he started back his right handed swing was ugly. After fall ball his freshman year he and the coaching staff decided he was better off hitting against lefties left handed then right handed and now he is a lefty all the way.

Hitting lefthanded is an advantage and if you can hit rightys better left handed you should do it. if your a lefty swinger there is not much point in switch hiting. His college team has a bunch of left handed hitters but they just don't have to face that many lefty pitchers.

Great in put from the posters here, but I'm still not decided on what is best for my rising senior. He is a good switch hitter, but a better righthanded hitter. He really needs a college scholarship to be able to go to school. He doesn't care if he makes it to the pros, he just wants to go to school. Even if switch hitting is just a gimick, if it lands him a scholarship thats what he's looking for. We are from a small school in New England, so he nees to de everything he can to be noticed.I can't help but think that King Albert, and Manny could both switch hit if they wanted to, but why would they. No my son is not the next Manny, but he has been told he has a D-1 bat hitting righty.

Great discussion; a lot of good strong opinions. Not sure I would characterize switch hitting as a "gimmick," but it certainly is not as common. I will say this, our HS coaches were dead set against it, and there is no way my son would have recommitted to switch hitting last year if not for his injury.

One thing that can get overlooked I think is that players need to get live swings from their "weak" side to get better. Sometimes, players on travel teams simply won't get that opportunity. If a ballplayer comes to it too late, he may not get the opportunity simply because the team's focus is very competitive and its viewed that one can't "waste" at bats.

I am a switch-hitter. my swing is alot better overall from the left side than it is from the right side. Being true that about 75% of pitchers are right handed, would it be more beneficial for me to stop hitting right handed? I take 50 swings everyday from each side of the plate, but is all that right handed work worth it considering that I only get like 15 right handed AB's a year?

Concerning facing a left handed pitcher from the left side of the plate. Would having a better lefty swing make up for the fact that I wouldnt be able to pick up the ball as well as I would from the right side?

As you know I am "old school", thus, for me, if it ain't broke it don't need fixen---if a HS player, RH , is hitting over 400 and seeing mostly RHP's why look to switch hit---why take the chance of ruining his RH swing

To be a solid switch hitter the player needs to start learning at an early age not in HS

First and foremost if you cant hit from both side it doesnt matter obviously...

Let me also say that I think your player needs to show some natural tendency to be able to switch hit. When my son was just old enough to hold one of those big plastic bats sometimes he would pick it up LH and sometimes RH and even sometimes cross handed like Aaron did in his young days. My dad who was a surgeon was truly ambidextrous. He could cut and stitch with either hand. When I put all this together I thought I would try it with him.

My son is a switch hitter and has been since 11. Often times he would go RH when younger b/c, as has been said, he had more power and the team needed him in a power role. I once asked Jack McKeon at a hot stove banquet about hitting from both sides. He said absolutely stick with it. A former AAA mgr told me "I can go to Venezuela and sign all the SH second baseman I could possibly want.. but a SH catcher?.. it really helps his marketability".

We have run into some opposition to it at the HS level.. as mentioned above. We have no opposition to it on his showcase team.

One of my proudest moments was in LL when he hit one out from both sides of the plate in the same game. I will always cherish those HR balls.

ps: and dont forget how much extra work being a switch hitter means in your workout schedule!!!

Some ESPN analyst who likely got picked last at recess for kickball every day (Tim Kirkjerk) does what geeks do best--he pulled up history of stats to demonstrate what?? That he is smarter than all the MLB managers for decades who have been foolish to use SH in their line-ups?

Kirkjerks numbers aside-- let's keep this simple...and I would even pose this questions to Kirkjerk:

You have 2 players vying for same position on any roster. All things being equal and by that I mean their abilities and even their stats (yes-overall batting average not one side of the plate over the other) --all is similar--"You" are the coach which one do you pick--the SH or non SH???

Pretty simple answer for ANY coach who knows baseball and even simple answer for any geek who has NEVER played beyond t-ball!

Since Kirkjerks article how many SH in MLB have stopped Switch hitting??? Ya See--just like when he was a kid at recess--MLB players don't pay much attention to kirkjerk either.

quote:

Originally posted by bothsportsdad: One of my proudest moments was in LL when he hit one out from both sides of the plate in the same game. I will always cherish those HR balls.

Mine was early last spring; my son hit an everyday line drive single to left (from the left side). He stayed down on it, got through it, got down the line and made his turn. He told us after the game that he knew he could switch hit when he could go with the pitch and "hit it where it was pitched."

Mine was in High School Varsity game this year. Son tagged a kid out at the plate and hyper-extended his thumb. The next inning he came up to bat, hitting lefty, took strike one, fouled off strike two and fell to his knees in pain from the injury. he looked around kind of confused on what to do and then jumped in the right-handed batters box. The pitcher then was shaking his head. Son rips a double in the gap, and everyone in the stands was amazed.